Preview: Kings at Sharks

May 20, 2013|Reuters

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Preview: Kings at Sharks

While they avoided facing the most difficult deficit against which to come back with an overtime victory on Saturday, the sixth-seeded San Jose Sharks still are in a virtually must-win situation when they host the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of their Western Conference second-round series on Tuesday. San Jose was in danger of going down 0-3 to the reigning Stanley Cup champions as the teams ended regulation knotted at 1-1. But the Sharks began overtime with a 5-on-3 power play and cashed in 11 seconds after the first penalty expired as Logan Couture scored at 1:29 to send the HP Pavilion faithful into a frenzy.

Los Angeles was in the same position San Jose found itself entering Game 3 as it lost the first two games of its first-round series at St. Louis before rallying to win four straight. The Sharks are optimistic they can continue along that path as their power play began clicking on Saturday. After going 7-for-24 in its first-round sweep of Vancouver, San Jose was 0-for-7 over the first two contests against Los Angeles before scoring twice on five opportunities in Game 3.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS

ABOUT THE KINGS: Kyle Clifford may rejoin the lineup Tuesday after missing four games with an undisclosed injury. The left wing failed to register a point in Los Angeles' first five contests this postseason. Left wing Tanner Pearson, who made his NHL debut in Game 3, likely will sit out should Clifford return. Captain Dustin Brown was named as a finalist for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award on Monday. Brown, who was runner-up for the honor last year, joins fellow captains Jonathan Toews of Chicago and Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa as finalists. "It's not something you go out and look for," Brown said. "To be among Toews and Alfredsson in that group was special." Jonathan Quick received a game misconduct for verbally abusing the officials after Couture's overtime goal on Saturday, but the goaltender avoided any further discipline from the league. Coach Darryl Sutter told the Los Angeles Times he believes Quick needs to learn to control his temper. "I think he's got to handle that," Sutter said. "He can't be frustrated. That's a by-product of being a great goaltender."

ABOUT THE SHARKS: Martin Havlat's return to San Jose's lineup was short-lived as the veteran right wing has been ruled out for Game 4. Havlat saw less than five minutes of ice time Saturday in his first appearance since the opener of the Sharks' first-round series against Vancouver before exiting with a lower-body injury. It's not known whether it's the same problem that caused Havlat to miss the team's previous five contests. Defenseman Jason Demers could replace Havlat in the lineup, as he skated with the forwards during Monday's practice. Demers has not played since April 18 due to a left ankle injury and is hoping to get back in the lineup. "I feel good. It's just a question of getting back into game shape," he said. "As soon as you do a couple of shifts, especially in this kind of series, you'll be in shape real quick. I'm just helping out wherever I can and going where they tell me to go." If not Demers, coach Todd McLellan is likely to insert Tim Kennedy into the lineup for Havlat.

OVERTIME

1. Four of San Jose's five playoff victories over Los Angeles have come in overtime.

2. The Kings are 1-3 on the road this postseason, while the Sharks are 3-0 at home.

3. San Jose LW Patrick Marleau leads the team with five goals and has collected eight points in seven playoff games.